John s



(No Model.)

J. S. FRENCH.

WAGON SGRAPER.

No. 367,751. 7 Patented Aug. 2, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. FRENCH, OF KNIGHTS LANDING, CALIFORNIA.

WAGON-SCRAPER.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,751, dated August 2, 1887.

Application filed December 16, 1886. Serial No. 221,800. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN S. FRENCH, of Knights Landing, Yolo county, State of California, have invented a new and Improved Grading-llfaehine, of which the following is a specification. r

The invention relates to a grading-machine consisting of two large shovels or scrapers mounted in a frame carried upon wheels; and it consists in a certain peculiar manner of supporting the frame upon the wheels and the arrangement and forms of construction of the scrapers and operating devices connected therewith, as hereinafter more fully set forth, by which the machine acquires great capacity in operating and may be handled wit-h great facility and economy of labor.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure l is a side view of the machinewith the scrapers shown in the position they occupy both in the act of loading and unloading. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

In all the figures the same letters of reference represent the same parts.

In the drawings, A is a wooden frame com-" posed of two deep and narrow side members and a cross-piece, A, shown a little forward of the rear axle. This frame extends from a point in front which just escapes the swing of the forward wheels as they are turned about the king-bolt to a point back of the fulcrumsupports of the rear scraper, as shown. A lighter frame, 13, rests on top of the frame A, and extends from a point over the forward axle to a point about over the rear axle. The two frames are firmly bolted together by bolts a a. The frame B will be high enough to permit the forward wheels to swing under it-,and it will have a board flooring, O, for the operator to stand on. This flooring is removed in the plan view, the better to show the parts beneath. These frames Aand B aremounted upon the four wheels D in the ordinary way, excepting that, inasmuch as the forward axle cannot be connected to the rear axle by the ordinary reach or coupling pole, a substitute therefor is adopted.

The forward axle, like an ordinary wagon, will turn on a kingbolt, E, and there will be the usual braces, I F,for the tongue or pole G and the fifthwvheel H. No change in these parts will be made. There will be provided, however,two braces,l I, which will be securely fastened on top of the frame B, at each side, and converge downward to the king bolt, where they will terminate in a boss, through which the kingbolt will pass. The braces I I will be so curved as to allow the forward wheels to swing under them.

The whole frame is mounted on four wheels, as stated, and ordinarily a couple of horses are harnessed to the pole in front to draw it.

K K are two large scrapers, made of plate iron or steel, of dimensions which will give them the capacity of carryin g abouta half cubic yard of soil. These scrapers havebars L firmly fastened to their sides, which extend beyond their front and rear ends a distance about as indicated in the drawings. From the rearends of these side bars chainsM, extend upward to book one of their links over a fulcrnm-pin,N, which projects inwardly from the surface of the frame above, to which the pin is fastened.

There are numerous other ways, however, of

fastening the chains M, which will easily suggest themselves. All that is necessary to providefor in adopting a method of hanging is that the rear end of the scrapers may be raised or lowered by shortening or lengthening the hanging of these chains to suit. The front end of each bar L on each scraper has a chain, 0, i

which joins the chain from the opposite bar in the center of the machine and passes upward as a single chain to wind upon the Windlassbarrel P above. These chains support the front ends of the scrapers. A chain, Q, extends from each side of the rear scraper tolink into staples or stirrup-bolts passing through the cross-timber A. A similar pair of chains, Q, in like manner connect the forward scraper to the front of frame over axle. These are called the draft-chains; and it is by these chains that the scrapers are dragged over and into the ground in the act of filling. The scrapers in front will have narrow blades b, with ends upturned,rivetcd to the sides. Each scraper has a tilting bottom, K, supported upon a rod, 70, which passes underneath at a point nearer to the front end than the rear end and rests in holes in the side of the scraper; or, if preferred, a strip of iron may be riv eted on the side rather thicker than the plates forming the scraper, through which a hole IOO may be bored to carry these rods. These tilting bottoms are held closed when the scrapers of two little ears or lugs, r, projecting from a plate which is riveted to the back of the scraper. The fiat spring r is also riveted to the back of the scraper by a couple of rivets.

To disengage the catch and let the bottom drop to dump the load, the upper part of the lever is drawn forward by the rope S, leading to the hand of the operator in respect to the rear scraper,and pushed forward by the operators foot in respect to the forward scraper. After the load is dumped the bottoms of the scrapers are pulled up to close them by means of the chains T.

U U are a couple of simple windlasses con sisting of a barrel to wind upon supported upon a spindle resting in bearings, a crankshaft, V, set at aright angle with the windingbarrel, and a pair of bevelgears, W, transmitting molion from the crank-shaft to the barrelshaft. 7

X is the frame supporting the Windlass.

In the drawings the operator is shown with the driving-lines Y in his left hand, while he operates the rear Windlass with his right.

It is obviously permissible to construct a machine embodying part of these improvements with but one scraper; but two are deemed preferable.

The operation, which will have been sug gested by the foregoing, is briefly as follows: The horses being hitched to the machine, the driver and operator stands upon the platform between the windlasses. One or other, it is immaterial which, of the scrapers is lowered sufficiently to scoop up its load. Vhen it is properly filled, it is hoisted up and the other scraper dropped to scoop up its load. Both being filled and hoisted clear of the ground, the team is driven to the dumping-ground,

which may be a mile away, where the springcatches of the tilting bottoms are tripped and the loads drop out. Afterward the tilting bottoms are closed by pulling upward on the chains T, and the machine driven back to the operating-ground to repeat the action.

I am aware that scrapers have been mounted on wheels and dragged by horses, and I do not, therefore, broadly claim the machine as novel in that respect.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A four-wheeled-seraper grading-machine consisting, essentially, of the frame A, resting upon and secured to the axle of the rear wheels,

the frame B, resting upon and secured to the frame A, a swinging axle for theforward wheels turning on a king-bolt, and the iron braces I I, passing from the sides of the frame B to the king-bolt as a means of completing a connection between the rear and front axles without obstructing the space needed for the operation of the forward'scraper, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. A wagon-scraper consisting, essentially, of a carrying-frame supported on a pair of forward steering-wheels and a pair of rear wheels, as shown, a scraper hung centrally between these two pairs of wheels, a second scraper hung from the frame behind the rear wheels, and two elevated windlasses arranged to be operated by the driver from his stand upon a platform on the carrying-frame between the pairs of wheels, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In wheeled grading-machines having for ward and rear scrapers, the combination of hoisting-windlasses to connect therewith, and elevated supporting-frames so arranged that the driver may with one hand driy e his horses and with the other raise or lower either scraper, substantially as described.

JOHN S. FRENCH.

Vitnesses:

GEo. PARDY, JAMES L. DRUM. 

